Best of the Blogs
School Administrator, April 2022

“[P]erhaps, the most important reason to elevate the needs of our educators right now is that they are often expected to ‘be okay’ in the face of any and all difficulty. While teachers are superheroes to our little ones, they are also still human and the impacts of their stress are real. We have to hold space for this reality.”

From “Something Bigger” by Erik Burmeister, superintendent, Menlo Park City School District, Atherton, Calif., on his blog A School Superintendent’s Thoughts on Education, Community, Parenting and More “Resilience can lift many people into a better place. Numerous research results are showing that people can handle temporary changes and challenges — that they can find creative solutions to what appear to be monumental mountains — that they can rebound.”

From “Resilience — Digging Deeper Than We Thought We Could” by Dave Eberwein, superintendent/CEO, School District 63 (Saanich), Saanichton, British Columbia, on his blog The Power of Why
    
“I’ve noticed what has been bringing me joy. It’s really the simple things in life that are most meaningful in stressful times. I’m not sure if it’s my age, and my willingness to enjoy a slow down or even a wintering time of life, or if simplicity really is the answer to so many of life’s woes.”

From “Returning to Simplicity” by Amy Illingworth, assistant superintendent of educational services, Encinitas Union High School District, Encinitas, Calif., on her blog Reflections on Leadership and Learning
     
“I have been guilty of saying something like, ‘We will need to pivot to online learning.’ No more. The next time I use the word pivot will be when one of the guys in my men’s basketball league commits a travelling violation, as in, ‘You dragged your pivot foot, buddy.’ Time to consider new alternatives. A simple word like ‘switch’ may do the trick nicely.”

From “My Top Three for 2022” by Kevin Godden, superintendent, Abbotsford School District, Abbotsford, British Columbia, on his blog The Triumph of Teamwork
   
Read the full postings of these and other members’ blogs at www.aasa.org/SAblogs.aspx.